The Effect of an Apple Core
by RachieP
Summary: Kagome has a chat with Bokuseno and is given a choice. Now she explores the effect of an apple core. Part one of a three part story. Rated M for sexual content in next chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Part One

There was power here, within the boughs of Bokuseno's glade. As Kagome stepped under branches and weaved her way through sweetly scented vines of flowers, power tickled up through her body. From the bare soles of her feet to the sable crown of her head, electrifying currents of power ran its circuit across her blood.

"Welcome, and be at peace within the space of my branches."

Kagome looked in the direction of the voice and saw the face of Bokuseno staring kindly back at her. She smiled shyly at the tree, unsure of how to proceed. He noticed her slight discomfort and chuckled quietly to himself.

"Come, child and sit upon my roots." He said with kindness. He watched as the girl gracefully walked to his base and sat in the hollow carved out by the many who had visited him before. He looked over her frame and took in her features as she sat patiently also doing the same.

Her skin was paler and smoother than most humans, yet she had the muscle and tone of a warrior, not the softness of a hime. Her hands were small and delicate, with the calluses that came from work and toil. Her face was a heart and her features just as delicate as her hands. Her eyes were what really caught his attention though. They were brown, like all of the ningen of the land, yet if one looked close enough, they could see the crackle of blue lightning behind her brown orbs.

Kagome sat patiently while Bokuseno looked her over; trying not to fidget under what she was sure was intense scrutiny. The power in the glade had settled somewhat but was still present. Like a cat, it curled itself around her and was frolicking with her own power causing a halo of pink light to outline her frame.

"I don't believe we've meet yet, what is your name?" Bokuseno asked calmly.

"My name is Kagome. It's nice to meet you." She said softly, well aware that the youkai could easily hear her.

"Ah yes, the famous Kagome. It's nice to finally put a face to the name." The tree said kindly, "What is it that you seek? Perhaps a way to get home?" He asked leadingly and with great sympathy.

The tale of the Shikon no Miko was indeed one of great sorrow, or at least what pieces of it he had been told. When the tiny miko sitting before him had defeated Naraku and wish away the jewel, she had also wished away the only way home. She had attempted to go through the well and it had barred her passage. She had been devastated, torn away from her life in the future and her loved ones. Now here she was, three years later, sitting in his roots.

"No, I have accepted that the well will no longer work for me. When the jewel ceased to exist, the power source for the well also ceased to exist. What I have come to ask is for a place that I might stay. I can't stay with Inuyasha as he has Kikyo. Sango and Miroku are also far too busy with their lives to have to deal with me." She finished with a forlorn smile and cynical twist to her mouth.

Bokuseno examined the girl once again, but instead choose to delve deeper into her heart. What he saw was extraordinary, if not very surprising. He once again looked into the girls eyes and saw the blue lightning behind her strangely transparent brown irises. The effect made them seem almost purple in color. He sigh a deep, branch rattling sigh and settled once again.

"I know of several villages that would value a miko like you, but I would like to offer you something different if you are open to it." He said to her gently, but also with a tone that spoke of warning.

Kagome slowly nodded her head, to the approval of the magnolia youkai, as it meant that she would seriously think about this decision.

"If you so choose, you could stay within my forest and be welcome here. I've never allowed a human to dwell among my trees so I don't exactly know how my power will affect you. You will be changed, do not doubt that, as those who eat of me have always gained or lost something. However, here you will be safe and you will have the peace and solitude that you so desire." He offered in a serious tone.

Bokuseno shook his mighty branches and from them a single apple fell from their boughs. It landed in Kagome's outstretched hand, and when examined, looked like a normal apple. Kagome inspected it will a touch of her own power and found something quite different. Bokuseno chuckled quietly as the girl inspected the fruit and when she realized that the apple was not quite an apple, he continued.

"If you decide to stay here, then simply eat the apple and return the core to me." He said simply. He knew the girl would have to think about her choice so he left then, and retreated into himself to sleep.

When Kagome turned to look at Bokuseno's face, she found that it was gone and only smooth bark remained. She turned to settle back against the trunk and thought long and hard about her decision.

If she choose to stay she would be at peace, but there also seemed to be a price. She wondered how she might change if she lived here and what she might gain. She wasn't particularly worried about losing anything, she didn't have anything left to lose except her life and Bokuseno had said she was safe here. All in all, it was a very simple decision.

When Bokuseno awoke, it was to find a single apple core at his roots.

A/N: This is my first SessKag fic and the start of a three part story. Hope you guys like it! Please R&amp;R.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It had been years since Kagome had eaten the apple, and as Bokuseno promised there were consequences that came with it.

The first few days had been agonizing for Kagome. Her skin had felt as if it was on fire almost constantly and her aura fluctuated wildly causing the local youkai to flee the area. She'd had to stay away from Bokuseno's glade for fear of harming him. Water did nothing to ease her thirst and food never seemed to taste right. Kagome was convinced that she was going to die, the only thing that kept her from giving in was the promise of peace.

Slowly, at an almost unnoticeable pace, the burning sensation began to fade. A gust of wind brushed past her and it felt like the softest caress. Water not only quenched her thirst, it also filled her with a rush of energy and clear-headedness akin to swallowing a powerful mountain stream. Food tasted so strongly that she only needed a few bites before she was satisfied.

It seemed as if her price had been paid and Kagome could no longer contain herself, bursting into a run through a forest she had only seen briefly before the pain. She whooped and hollered her joy for the world to hear, breathing in scents she'd never smelled and seeing the world with fresh eyes. Little did she know that her dull human senses had been sharpened to that of a youkai and she was experiencing a world she never would have as a normal human.

She made a beeline for the Old Tree, intent on climbing his branches and thanking him endlessly for her transformation. As she approached a low hanging branch, Bokuseno studied the changes that had been wrought upon her by his apple.

She was slimmer, with sleek musculature and a grace she had not possessed before. Her once pale skin had darkened only slightly, giving her an ethereal glow. Her hair was longer, thicker and had acquired a shine that he'd only seen on youkai. Her eyes were perhaps her biggest change.

With the consumption of his apple, it seemed as if the hazy veil of mortality had lifted from her. She focused on things too far away to have been possible with human eyesight. Now there was a deeper understanding in her gaze, lit from behind by the blue lightning he had spotted before.

While her eyes were captivating, the change to her aura was perhaps even more intriguing. Before her change Kagome's aura was gentle and soothing, but as reiki it still retained a sparking, electric quality to it. Now, however, the edge it possessed was gone. Her aura was soothing and warm, like the first ray of sunshine in spring, bringing light and hope to all it touched.

Bokuseno chuckled inwardly as she bounced among his branches and then bolted off to enjoy her new body, reminding him very much of a slightly bigger human child that was known to travel with a demon lord. One that was entering his forest at that very moment.

He caught her dancing among the trees, flitting from branch to branch. Her body swayed with unnatural grace, moving to a rhythm that was as chaotic as it was hypnotic. Sesshomaru followed the swing of her hips, and for an instant was snared in the web she was weaving with the delicate swirls of her fingers.

Kagome danced on, oblivious to the demon lords presence. She was feeling brash, reckless even, to be dancing in the open but her heart was finally light again, filled with the hope that had been taken from her so long ago…

A/N: I promise I'll finish this within the month, and I'm so sorry this took more than a year to update. I'm a horrible person T^T


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